Little Homeschool Blessings: Egglo Entertainment Products {A Review}

The Light shines in the dark and the darkness has not overcome it. ~John 1:5

Egglo Entertainment sent us their Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs ($11.99), The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure (book) ($12.99), The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure (book audio download) ($2.99), Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls ($4.29), and The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure Program Guide ($14.99) to review. The Egglo program is designed to help children remember the real meaning of Easter-God's gift of eternal salvation and love. It is targeted for ages 4-13 and can be used with church groups, large groups, small groups, and families.

What's Included:
~The Egg-Cellent Easter Adventure is a softcover book. Three children (Hardy, Anastasia, and Pascal) and their dog head off on an adventure. After finding a chest with a glowing Easter egg inside, they head off around the world led by a Bible verse and a clue. In the end, the kids learn the true Easter story.

~Adventure Audio Book is a downloadable 30 minute recording of the book The Egg-Cellent Easter Adventure.

~Glow in the Dark Eggs-Each carton contains a dozen glow-in-the-dark Egglo Eggs in green, blue, yellow, and pink. All 12 eggs appear to be standard plastic egg size, open and can be stuffed with scrolls, verses, stickers, markers, candy or other things. They are made from phosphorescent particles that absorb light/heat. They glow best for 45-60 minutes and fade over the next 1-2 hours. Cold temperatures will shorten the glow time of the eggs. They can be used again and again.

To fully charge them you'll need 20-60 minutes...
Sunlight: 20 minutes
Black light: 30 minutes
Fluorescent: 40 minutes
Incandescent light: 60 minutes

~The Egglo Glow-in-the-Dark Event curriculum guide is a 60 page pdf download and includes: how to use instructions, planning overview, hunt guidelines, visual aides, activity ideas, decoration tips, decorations, a poster, theme snack ideas with recipes and suggestions (Light of the World, Egg-cellent Easter Eggs, and He is Not Here), printable discussion cards, invitations to your event, coloring activity pages, a devotion, lessons with scripture, question and answer section, reading rebus puzzle, and game.

~Scripture Scrolls are packaged with 12 scrolls made of plastic and paper. Each package has 12 different Bible versus from 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Deuteronomy 6:5, proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 5:16 and 28:20, John 1:4, 1:5, 3:16, 8:12 and 12:46.

Additional Materials Required:

There are lots of ways to use the program, so the materials would depend on what you choose to do. We needed...

crayons for the coloring pages
marshmallows, pretzels, and sprinkles for the snack
paper to write our clues on for the treasure hunt
candy for the treasure hunt
computer to play the audio download

Time Frame:

There is no set time for using these materials, so you can make use of the materials in a way that works best for you.

Our Experience with Egglo Eggs & Materials:

The Book & The Audio-The kids initially listened to the book from the audio file. Li wanted to hear it again and again before his nap and bedtimes. Jo-Jo enjoyed reading it to me whenever she got the chance.

~What the kids had to say about the story~

Jo-Jo
"There are little kids that are always mean to each other. Then they go on this Easter egg hunt. At the end, they get a Bible. When they do the Easter egg hunt at night they are nicer to each other. Ana, who used to be scared at night, is braver. Pascal starts looking up to his older cousins. Hardy starts helping Pascal and the other little kids. The mom wondered about the change in the kids. The dad said, “Let’s just be thankful for miracles,” because they had no idea that the children had found them."

"I love the book because the kids were always mean to one another and then they get these scrolls and read about Jesus’ resurrection and become nicer to each other."

Ceesa
"There are 3 kids Pascal, Hardy, and Anastasia. One day they go up to their attic to find a board game. They find a glowing Easter egg. The eggs' power is when it is opened. The kids find two scrolls, scripture, and a clue. When they say the name of the place of the clue, they go there. They find another Easter egg and it continues to take them to new places. First they went to Egypt. There they learned to be humble and not selfish. Then they went underwater where they learned to not be afraid. Then they went to Ireland where a volcano erupted. There they learned to listen to others. Then they went to the Garden of Eden. There they found a cross. Inside was a scroll with a message. Somebody had left a scroll (it made me think that Jesus left it), then they went home. It told about the resurrection. That night they went to an Easter egg hunt at church. There they treated one another different. Pascal was asking Hardy and Anastasia for help. Anastasia wasn’t afraid like she usually was and Hardy wasn’t bossing them around. He was helping them. He was more thoughtful than usual."

"I like the book. My favorite part was in the end where they were in the Garden of Eden. I’m not sure it was the Garden of Eden, but it was a beautiful place that made me think of the Garden of Eden. I would love to be there."

The Eggs, The Hunt, & The Scripture Scrolls-I set up a treasure hunt for the kids. Each of the eggs had a scripture scroll and a clue to where the next egg was hidden inside. They would open a scroll read it and then read their next clue.

It wasn't night time, so I hid the eggs in rooms and places that were dark. They would let their eyes adjust and look for glowing colors. They even squeezed into the pantry together.

The last egg held candy and one last scroll.

~What the kids had to say about the eggs, hunt, and scrolls~
Jo-Jo says, "Awesome. I like that it was a treasure hunt and there was something for each of us to do. Ceesa would read the scroll, then I would read the clue, and Li would find the egg. We would usually find the egg and then move things around so Li could find it. Then we would switch. It was fun looking for the eggs in the dark and seeing them glow."

Ceesa says, "I liked how we each got to switch back and forth from reading the scroll and the clues. And the candy. I thought it was pretty cool that the eggs glowed in the dark. When we first got them, I grabbed one and took it to Li's room and shut the door so there wasn't any light and the egg glowed really brightly. (At first I thought they were bright enough to read with, but they weren't.) Momma made up some fun clues for the treasure hunt. The last one was the hardest."

The Curriculum Guide-We did one of the snacks (with some adaptations with what we had at home) and the children choose several coloring pages to color. Close to Easter we will use the guide devotions and lessons for Sunday School.

Suggestions:
Suggestions for using Egglo Eggs throughout the year are listed here and provided in detail at the link above: Scavenger Hunts, Sleepovers, Birthday Parties, Use as Prizes, Egg Hunt, Egg Toss, Hot Potato, Glow-in-the-dark Ring Toss, Glow-in-the-dark Balloons, Nightstand Light, School Lunches, Stockings, Send in Travel Bag when spending the night away, and Give as Anonymous Gifts.

We also used them to light up our tin punched lanterns and for table decorations.

Ceesa thought it would be fun to leave the scrolls in public places for people to find...on business stands at restaurants, on benches, on shelves at the library, wherever you go.

Recommendations:
For anyone looking for fun Easter games and ideas for kids, these glow in the dark Easter eggs and materials provide lots of fun. I don't generally do Easter egg hunts for my kids, my sister always has put one together, so I especially like that you can do all kinds of things with them throughout the year.

Future:
We are planning to continue to use the curriculum guide as the Easter season approaches. And I've always wanted to have a glow-in-the-dark birthday party in the summer for Jo-Jo. How fun to have a glow-in-the-dark Easter hunt in July!